Their World
by SiriuslylvnSirius25
Summary: Sirius Black wasn't welcome at Hogwarts. Erica Summers was different from the other girls. Together the two for a strong bond that can't be broken...they become king and queen of and imaginary world. Based on book Bridge to Terabithia.
1. A Newfound Bond

**1. A Newfound Bond**

A week of school had already past and Sirius Black was no closer to making any friends than his family was to becoming best friends with a muggle (and that is impossible). His roommates hated him because of his family. James Potter, being pureblood, knew who his family was and thought him to be the same as them. James turned the other three boys in the dorm against him (Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Frank Longbottom).

Sirius slowly made his way to the Great Hall for supper. His last class had just ended, and the weekend was about to begin. _Great_, he thought. _My first weekend here and no friends to spend it with._ He sat down at the Gryffindor table by himself. When James and the others entered he 'accidentally' bumped into Sirius, succeeding in spilling his pumpkin juice all over the table. Sirius reached for his napkin to clean it up when another hand came out of nowhere and began to clean it up for him. He lifted his head up to thank whoever it was. However, he stopped mid-sentence and stared at the person before him. He knew the girl that was smiling down at him. She was an outcast, like him, but in Ravenclaw. The other girls didn't like her because she didn't act like them. Instead of spending hours in front of the mirror every morning she just threw her light brown hair up in a bun and left without applying an sort of make-up. The biggest reason why they didn't like her, however, was because she wasn't afraid to speak her mind. If she was spoken to she would come right out and say the cold hard truth. This caused people to stay away, because a lot of the time the truth wasn't nice.

Sirius opened his mouth again, after getting over the shock, and muttered, "Thanks." He wondered, though, why she wasn't at her own table.

Erica seemed to take that thanks as an invitation to sit down, for that is what she did. "No problem. He shouldn't have done that. It was really mean of him."

"It's okay," Sirius muttered back, determined not to look her in the eyes. "I deserved it." He believed it too. Deep down in his heart he knew that it wasn't true, but a bigger part of him told him it was. It was the only explanation for James' behavior.

"No, you don't. You haven't done anything to him. All you've been is quiet and secluded." _Why did she care?_ Sirius thought bitterly. _It's not like we're friends or anything. Why should she care whether James is nice to me or not?_ He felt a sudden urge to want her to leave, but he could tell that she wasn't going to, so without another word he got up and left her alone at the table. He did feel kind of bad, but was soon over it. He didn't think he deserved to have friends. He didn't want to have friends, he would only bring them down. His family would scare them away, or worse he would, by becoming like his family. He didn't want that to happen. It was safer for him to just be left alone. On his own. He didn't mind…too much. Sure, he wanted a friend so that he had someone to talk to when he needed it, but he couldn't bring himself to make one. Not that anyone would if he wanted to. James would make sure of that. Either him or his family would.

Sirius roamed the halls for fifteen minutes before realizing that he was lost. He knew that he was somewhere on the third floor, but where on the third floor was the question. He looked around him, but didn't recognize anything. So, he turned around and headed back the way he came, hoping to come upon something familiar eventually.

"Lost?" a voice asked from behind him. He knew that voice. It was Erica. He turned around to see her smirking at him.

"No, I was just wandering around. Don't really want to go back to my dorm right now, you know? Not that it's any of your business," Sirius glared at her. He wasn't going to admit that he was indeed lost, especially not to her.

"Sure you're not," she said, the smirk never faltering. "Come on. This is the way back to the main staircases." She turned around again and led the way back. Sirius, reluctantly followed. He still didn't want to admit that he was lost, but if he didn't follow he might not get back for another hour. He was going the wrong way anyway.

They made their way back to the main staircases in silence. Erica always looking ahead and never at Sirius, but for some reason she was all Sirius could look at. She intrigued him. No, he didn't want to be her friend still and he was still reluctantly following her, but he wondered why she even bothered talking to him. Didn't he just ditch her in the Great Hall? And she wasn't even at her own table. He had left her there, alone, at an unfamiliar table. So, why was she still talking to him? He expected her to hate him, or at least be mad at him. But no, here she was helping him out. He wondered what went through that head of hers. Why did she bother?

Before he knew it they had arrived at the main staircases. He pulled his eyes away from her just as she turned to face him. "Why don't you like me? You don't even know me," she asked bluntly. She really wasn't afraid to speak her mind.

"I don't…hate you. I just…I don't…want friends," Sirius finished lamely. How was he supposed to tell her that he didn't think he deserved friends? That he didn't want friends because he thought that he might end up like his family and hurt them in the end. He couldn't.

"Everyone wants friends," she implied. "Some are just better at hiding their loneliness than others. But you, you have it put in your head that you don't deserve friends. That you deserve to be lonely for the rest of your life. It's written all over your face. You're only eleven for Merlin's sake. How could not deserve friends? Tell me, what have you done that's so bad that you don't deserve them?"

"I…I never said I didn't deserve friends!" he yelled back angrily. "I said I didn't want them! Especially not ones like you!" The words escaped his mouth before he even realized what he was saying. The hurt expression on Erica's face was one that he would never forget. He could see her trying to hold back tears as she ran away.

"Wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean…it," Sirius called after her finishing lamely as she turned the corner. He knew where she was headed and he fully intended to follow her there. He jogged around the corner only to bump into some people that he really wished he hadn't.

"Well, look who it is," James sneered with a mischievous grin plastered on his face. Remus, Peter, and Frank were stopped just behind him. Remus looked like he felt sorry for Sirius, but didn't say anything, Frank looked to be a bit bored, and Peter stood behind James, following his every move. "What're you doing here, Black?"

Sirius regained his balance from bumping into James and returned James' sneer with a glare of his own. "None of your business Potter. Don't you have something better to do than to try and tease me? Cause I won't let it bother me." _ At least that's what I'll let him think._ James just looked at him with disgust and pushed passed him with the others in tow. Sirius could have sworn he heard Remus mutter a quick sorry to him, but he dismissed that thought quickly. Then he remembered where he was headed in the first place and took of again.

When he reached his destination he slowed to a stop and listened to the sobs coming from within the girl's bathroom. He knew he couldn't go in there, but he could talk through the door he supposed. _Why does my mouth have to work faster than my brain?_ He knocked on the door lightly.

"Go away," came the choked voice of Erica from within.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"If you didn't mean it you wouldn't have said it," she sobbed. A little part of Sirius told him that she was right, but he didn't listen to it.

"Really, I truly am sorry. I wasn't in a good mood. I hate it when people…" he took a deep breath. "When people prove me wrong, and that is exactly what you did. You're right, everyone wants and deserves friends. I just…I don't think that I do. You don't know my family…if you did, you wouldn't want to talk to me either."

"Why would I care about who your family is?" she asked rhetorically, opening the door. Sirius looked up at her and saw her red, puffy eyes. Guilt rushed through him again and he scooted over for her to sit. She took a seat next to him and leaned against the wall. "It's not them that I want to know, it's you. Whoever said that you're like your family…whatever they're like. I don't care about them. I would never assume that someone is like their family. I wouldn't be able to know that unless I got to know them and their family. Then, I would decide, but I'd rather get to know a person first, before judging them."

Sirius looked at the girl with newfound respect. He'd never heard someone so young speak so wisely. She had a mind of her own, and didn't jump to conclusions like Potter and the rest of the school. He honestly didn't know what to say, so he let her continue. "I came over to your table today to talk to you. To get to know you, not the you that everyone makes you out to be. I thought you might want a friend."

The next thing either knew, Sirius had engulfed her in a hug. He didn't know what came over him, but he did know that he wanted to get to know her better. He did know that she would be a great friend. She hugged him back and he could feel her smile against him. He pulled away and their eyes locked. And in that moment both knew that it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.


	2. Just a Little Confrontation

**2. Just A Little Confrontation**

"So…what is your family like?" Erica asked Sirius timidly. She didn't want to cross over the lines of their friendship, but he got her curious.

Sirius looked at Erica for a minute…he guessed that she deserved to know…after all, she was the only person to talk to him at all so far. He took a deep breath and said, "Well they're basically a bunch of pureblood wizards and witches that think that blood is everything. I'm the first one to be sorted outside of Slytherin in well…ever. Because of that, they despise me…and because of my family everyone else despises me."

Erica looked at Sirius with sympathy. "I'm sorry…I never knew. I guess I wouldn't be the friend for you to make at the moment then…I'm muggleborn."

"But I want to be your friend," Sirius replied. He looked her in the eyes before continuing. "You're the only one that's even bothered to try and talk to me in this god forsaken place."

Erica smiled. "Well then, would you like to go for a walk?"

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows at her and asked, "Where? In the hallway…that's no fun."

"No, you doofass, outside," she replied with a laugh.

Sirius looked at her uncertainly. They weren't allowed outside after dark, and it was certainly way past dark. He hesitated for a bit longer, but finally agreed to when Erica made a pouting face that he just couldn't say no to. He followed Erica down a few flights of stairs and out the doors.

The were greeted by a light breeze as they stepped outside into the night. Sirius saw Erica smile against the night air and look up to the sky. She pointed at the stars and said, "Look there! It's Orion's Belt." Sirius looked up to where she was pointing and sure enough there was the constellation right above them.

"I've always loved looking at the stars," she continued. "They intrigue me. We may know some things about the stars, but they're so far away and burn so brightly. We couldn't even make it half way to the closest one at speed of light before whoever's going there dies of old age. Some of them have even burned out years ago, but we can still see them, bright as ever."

Sirius nodded to what Erica was saying. He was always somewhat interested in the stars. Him being named after one. He was amazed at how much this girl knew in the first place. "I've always liked the stars, but never really thought that much about them."

Erica looked at him, the smile never leaving her face. "You should really read about them sometime. There's some interesting stuff, and it's always good to learn new things."

Sirius nodded. "Will do. So anyway, why did you want to come out here anyway?"

Erica shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, it's just peaceful outside at night. And I'm not going to sleep anytime soon, so I thought might as well go get some fresh air." She pulled Sirius off towards the lake. They walked along the edge of the lake in a comfortable silence for a little bit before it was broken by Sirius.

"Can I ask you something?" he looked at Erica.

Erica looked back at Sirius, her smile still there and said, "Sure."

Sirius looked at the ground and shuffled his feet as they stopped walking. He put his hands behind his back and twisted his fingers around nervously. "Why…why is it that you don't care what people think?" Sirius blushed a bit at his question. He thought it was a stupid question, but he couldn't help but ask. Everyone he's ever met or been around has always cared about what other people think about them…even he does.

Erica put her hand under Sirius' chin and lifted his head up. He could see the smile on her face widen. "That's just the way I was brought up. If someone doesn't like you for who you are, then what's the point in trying to be their friend. I think people are so caught up in being fake that they forget who they really are. If people can't accept that everyone is different and doesn't need to be exactly the same to be a good person, then that's their problem. I'm not going to act differently around people or lie to them just to get them to like me. They should just like me for me."

Sirius let a smile spread across his face. This girl was brave. He wished that he had the courage to not care what people thought of him, but he did. He couldn't help it. He was raised by people where image is everything. That and blood. He had respect for the girl, that was for sure. "I wish that I could be the same."

"But you can. All you have to do is believe in yourself and no one else. Just do what your heart tells you, not your brain. Be who you want to be," Erica replied looking straight into his eyes. Sirius smiled and continued walking. They joked around for a bit before heading up to the castle. Sirius felt as if they had known each other their whole lives. Erica was easy to get along with once you got to know her. Her bluntness didn't bother him either. He actually rather liked it. It gets a point across quick, simple, and painlessly.

Sirius didn't even realize what time it was before he heard footsteps coming down the hall. He quickly ducked behind a suit of armor, dragging Erica with him, as James, Remus, Peter, and Frank came around the corner.

"Come on," Remus pleaded in a whisper. "We're not supposed to be out of bed. Let's just go back."

"Merlin Remus, don't be such a baby. It is okay to break the rules once in a while," James replied back not even looking at the boy. They kept on walking, but stopped just in front of the suit of armor. _Great…just what I need…please don't find us…oh please…_

Frank reached into his bag and pulled out some supplies. "Here," he said handing them to James. "You can continue on without me…I'm tired and really need to get to sleep."

"Fine," James sighed. "But you're not going to get any credit in this."

"That's alright with me…I don't need to get into trouble only a week into school," Frank replied back. Remus looked after Frank and Sirius could tell that he wanted to go too, but didn't want to disappoint James at the same time. James turned to Peter.

"You stay on the lookout okay? Come on Remus." He grabbed Remus and pulled him off.

Before Sirius even knew what he was doing he stepped out from behind the statue. Erica tried to stop him, but it was too late. "What do you think you're doing?" Sirius demanded. He didn't know where his sudden bravery came from, but he was going to use it while he had it. Erica stepped out from behind the statue and stood behind Sirius, she knew what was going to come when she did that, but she didn't care…she could take it, she just didn't know if Sirius could.

James smirked as he saw Erica step out. "I could be asking you two the same thing…"

Sirius and Erica both glared at him. Sirius opened his mouth to retort, but Erica beat him to it. "We're not you…we don't go around snogging half the population of the school, after only a week of being here. Why don't you go shove your comments up your arse and go lay them on someone who cares."

James looked shocked for a split second, but it was long enough for everyone to see. He recovered as quickly as it came and replied, "Well aren't we the snippy one? I'll have you know that…"

This time it was Sirius that cut him off. "Just leave it. What are you planning to do?"

"Like I would tell you?" James said raising his eyebrows.

Erica rolled her eyes and stepped up to James, getting right in his face. "Just go back to your common room before I make you." All the boys in the corridor looked at her amazed by her bravery of getting in James' face.

"Oh, I'm scared. What are you going to do? Tell a teacher?" James retorted glaring back at the girl.

She smiled before stomping her foot down on his as hard as she could, then grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pushing him against the wall. "Like I said…I'll _make_ you."

James looked startled by her strength as well as the rest of them. Sirius was grinning at her trying to suppress a laugh, Remus was trying to hold back a smile, and Peter just looked like he was going to wet his pants he was so scared. She let go of him and back away slowly not letting her glare falter. James looked at her and Sirius one last time before turning to the others saying, "Let's just go…it's not that important anyway." They scampered down the hall back in the direction they came.

Sirius turned to Erica and grinned. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Erica laughed lightly. "I told you, my parents taught me to not care about what other people think, and then they made me take self defense." She smiled at him. "Come on…let's go."

They walked up a few more flights of stairs making small talk, before Erica had to go in another direction. They went their separate ways to their common rooms with a quick good night (and Sirius adding 'don't let the bed bugs bite' which got a little chuckle). Sirius made his way slowly up to the Gryffindor common room. _Wow, that girl can fight. Come to think of it, what can't she do? She's smart…funny…tough…speaks her mind. She's just amazing. Boy am I glad that she befriended me and I finally let her in,_ Sirius thought to himself on the way to the seventh floor. He didn't like her like her, he just thought that she was a great friend so far. When he got to the portrait hole he said the password and walked in, not stopping as he made his way through the common room and up to his dorm.

When he opened the door to the dorm he found James and Peter still up. Frank had gone to sleep and Remus was in the bathroom. Sirius didn't even look their way as he walked over to his bed. James, however, wasn't that easily ignored. "Next time, your little girlfriend won't be there for you…your lucky she's a tough one."

Sirius ignored his comments no matter how much he wanted to yell back at him. _First off she's not my girlfriend! Secondly, your just mad because she's stronger than you Mr. Macho Man!_ Sirius screamed in his head. If he wasn't so mad, he probably would have laughed at the fact that he called him 'Mr. Macho Man', even if it was just in his head. He laid down in his bed not bothering to change and pulled the hangings closed. He fell asleep not too long after.

The next morning Sirius woke earlier than the others in the dorm and took a quick shower. He dressed and left the room just as the others were starting to wake. Luckily, he got out before James had enough time to come up with some snide comment. He went down to the Great Hall and sat down for breakfast. It was then that he remembered it was Saturday and he had the whole day to get to know Erica better, he couldn't wait. He finally had a friend.

Fifteen minutes after Sirius started eating Erica entered the hall and sat down across from him. "Hey, how you doing? Potter and the others say anything last night when you went back to your dorm?" she asked as she buttered a piece of toast for herself.

Sirius smiled at her and replied, "I'm good, tired…it's still early, but whatever. And yes, he did say something. I can't remember it though…I just ignored it, no matter how badly I wanted to scream back at him."

"Well, good for you," Erica smiled back. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Sirius thought for a minute, but couldn't think of anything. "I don't really care…anything, I'm up for it. I've got nothing better to do."

She grinned and said, "I've got an idea…I'll tell you…or rather show you later." That comment got Sirius curious. He badgered her throughout breakfast about it, but every time he asked she replied with 'you'll see' and then change the subject. By the end of breakfast Sirius' curiosity was booming. He couldn't wait to find out what she was talking about.

They walked out of the Great Hall when they were done eating, and out into the blazing sun. Sirius had to squint as he looked around at everyone outside. Some were trying to get all the way over to touch the whomping willow's trunk, others were exploring the edge of the forest that surrounded the area (A/N-the forest is not forbidden in this story yet…that is very important to the plot), and others were swimming in the lake with the Giant Squid. He smiled knowing that he had a friend to actually share the weekend with and followed her down towards the lake.

He quirked an eyebrow and asked, "Why are we going to the lake?" He thought they were going to go somewhere unique. She just smiled at him and grabbed his hand pulling him along.

They passed some students and earned many stares. Most were wondering when they had become friends, and others were just curious as to where they were going. Erica stopped pulling Sirius along when they got to the edge of the lake. She still had a hold of his hand though. Turning her head in all directions, she made sure no one was looking and quickly dragged Sirius into the forest. They walked along the edge of the forest, so they could still see the lake, for a few minutes before Erica stopped him.

"You ready for this?" she asked putting a hand to his chest to prevent him from moving on. Sirius nodded quickly, anxious to see what it was that she wanted to show him. She pushed past some thick branches and what Sirius saw amazed him.


	3. Our World

**3. Our World**

Before Sirius was an small open field surrounded by tall trees. It looked so peaceful. There were a few dragonflies and butterflies fluttering about. The sun shone through the treetops to make a dimly lit setting that just added to the serenity. They walked forward so that they were standing on the edge of the forest and beginning of the field. Sirius looked over at Erica and smiled at her. "This place is amazing. It's…"

"Stimulating?" Erica suggested with a smirk. "Yeah, I know. I found it on our first day when I was wandering around. I didn't have anyone to be with, so I decided to explore the forest and here we are." She smiled as she looked around the small field. There was a dark corner at the opposite end of the field that she'd just noticed. The sun didn't seem to want to touch it. She looked at Sirius with a grin. "You know what we should do?"

Sirius gave her a curious look and asked, "What?" He couldn't help but be in amazement with the field, even after being there for ten minutes. He'd just never seen any place that was so peaceful, but after growing up in Grimmauld Place who would?

"We should make this our place…our land, kind of like we're the king and queen of it and we can make up all these rules and creatures. And the citizens of our world look up to us to make decisions and fight the battles of our rivals, with our army to back us up," Erica smiled as her mind worked it's wonder, thinking of more and more ideas for this imaginary world.

Sirius couldn't help but smile along with Erica as she rambled on about their world. Their world…it sounded surreal, yet strangely right. They should have their own world. An escape to the reality of Hogwarts. From the bullies and classes. From the teachers and homework. Just a place to get away from it all. A world where they get to control what happens and when. Where they got to make up the rules and everything else that went along with them. "I like it," he said simply, yet it was enough to make the smile on Erica's face grow wider.

She was worried, to be truthful. She thought that he might be scared by her running imagination, but she couldn't help it. It was just her, but it made her seem kind of…crazy in a way. "That's great! Now we need a name to start off," she thought and took a seat at the edge of the field. Sirius followed suit and tried to think of names as well.

He wasn't very good at coming up with names and such things. "Utofria…the uto from Utopia and fria like free. Free for happiness!" Erica suggested interrupting Sirius' thinking process. He didn't care though, he liked it.

"That's way better than anything I would have come up with. I like it," he said giving her a warm smile and looking around at the area. He wanted to learn every inch of this place. He wanted to be able to recall this moment for the rest of his life…his first great moment with a true friend. He had to remember it.

Erica stood up and began to walk along the edge of the field. She held out her hand and ran it across the various trees with a smile. Sirius could tell that she was thinking some more of other things for their world. He just stood up and followed suit, only he wasn't thinking of any rules or creatures to make up. He was just enjoying the time, soaking in every moment with as much detail as possible.

"I got it!" Erica exclaimed breaking the silence, but once again Sirius didn't mind. "We'll have this place as our meeting area. This small open field. Outside of this area will be the outskirts of our land, where the citizens and such live. The boundary's will be the lake's edge to the left and about a fifty yards from the forest edge. Anywhere outside of there is enemy territory. You always have to be prepared to fight. Never be caught off guard or it could mean our territory…or worse your life," she concluded dramatically.

Sirius grinned. "Yeah, and we can ask some friendly creatures if they want to take part. Like they could be our soldiers. Maybe Fairies and some Nymphs if they want. We can search parts of the forest for creatures who are willing to play along," Sirius suggested. He wanted to contribute to the idea in some way, shape, or form. He hated feeling useless and didn't want this all to be just Erica's ideas.

Erica nodded her head. "I like your way of thinking King Black. We shall scope the forest for the brave and strong," she said like a true and confident queen. She walked to one end of the field and entered the forest again. Sirius followed as they went out in search of some allies.

A little ways into the forest they came upon some wood nymphs. Erica, being the girl, approached them. They thought that it would be better for Erica to deal with as the creatures of the forest tended to be a bit kinder towards the females. She bent over so that she was facing the wood nymphs and smiled at them. "Hello there, I'm Erica," she greeted them.

They all turned to look at her and one replied, "Hello Erica…I'm Niphideas." Erica knew from the nymphs posture and ability to speak up to her that she was the leader of the group.

"I…well, we," she nodded her head over to Sirius who was waiting over by the next tree, "were wondering if you guys would like to join us in a game."

The nymph looked at her curiously. "What type of game?" They were obviously not accustomed to having people in the forest, nevertheless asking them to join in a game.

"Well, we made it up. Have you ever been over to the small opening a little ways down?" The nymph nodded her head. "Well, we had this idea to make it a kingdom. Him, Sirius, and I are the king and queen, and we were wondering if you would like to be part of our army against the evil ruler of the other land." The nymph looked back at her group before nodded her head at Erica.

"We would love to. Just come here to get us whenever you would like us to play. 

"Thank you so much," Erica smiled before heading over to Sirius and nodding her head yes. He grinned and they kept on walking in search of more recruits. By noontime they had also found a group of fairy's who joined them in their game. It was Sirius who realized that it was lunch time just after they met the fairy's, so they headed back to the castle for a quick bite to eat and to get some supplies. No one seemed to notice when they came out of the forest and for that they were thankful. It wasn't that they minded people seeing them together, but for a boy and a girl to come out of the forest together was just a little too suspicious to the blind eye.

They sat down at the Ravenclaw table that day. It was Sirius' suggestion. He said that it wasn't fair for her to always sit at his table, and it was a change for him. He wanted to know what it was like to sit at another table. They spoke in whispers all lunch about what they were going to do after they were done.

Standing up from the table after lunch, Sirius grabbed Erica's hand and dragged her out to the grounds, earning a few curious stares, but they all dismissed it after a moment, not really caring. A grin spread across his face in excitement, but he didn't know why. It was just a stupid game they were playing. A make-believe world for just the two of them. The more he thought about it, the more he was excited about it.

As the day went on, they used what little they knew of magic to build a small fort for themselves. Inside they decided that they would put any pictures they took, their crowns (that the faeries wove from twigs), and any other things they felt they would need which didn't seem to add up to much, but in their minds it would be everything.


End file.
